Jeremy Rockliff,Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
The Department of Education (DoE) Annual Report for 2018–19 reflects the Hodgman majority Liberal Government’s Plan to ensure every Tasmanian has a better education and greater opportunity in life.
The report highlights our commitment to employing more staff in our public schools, with 47 more teachers and 91 more teacher assistants (headcount) across the Department in 2018-19 than in 2017-18.
When students stay in school longer they obtain better qualifications, giving them the best possible chances to gain employment and live a fulfilling and engaging life.
In 2019, a further five schools extended their course offerings to include Years 11 and 12 as part of the Years 11 and 12 Extension School Program, which brings the total number of schools to 43.
This meant that as at the First Term Census, 853 FTE students were studying Years 11 and 12 in an Extension School.
Important work has been undertaken to implement a new needs-based funding model for students with disability from 2020.
The new national leading model will see nearly double the number of students receive support, and that support will be tailored specifically to students to reflect what they require to improve their educational outcomes.
In 2019 we released the Principal Wellbeing and Mental Wellbeing Action Plans, which provide a range of identified actions in response to wellbeing issues affecting principals and students.
Libraries Tasmania has continued to increase access to its array of services, with the removal of fines and costs associated with book groups coinciding in an increase of 9.4 per cent in library membership from last year.
The Government has a plan for education, which is working, and our targeted investment from birth through to year 12 and beyond ensures Tasmania has a job-ready generation of young people with the skills to participate in a modern economy.
